Teddy Bear Artist

Lionheart Bears by Joan Reeder

My name is Joan Reeder and I make all the
Lionheart Bears that you will see on the next few pages.

I live in Southampton, a town on the south coast of England, with my partner Nigel and our wire-haired fox terrier, Bobby. I also have two horses that live with friends nearby.

During my working life I have had a variety of
occupations ranging from Secretary to Phototypesetter, from computerised embroiderer to hand-finishing beautiful designer bridal gowns.

I have always had a keen interest in sewing, being taught to sew use an electric sewing machine by my mother at an early age.

Having been introduced to bear collecting by a friend about three years ago, I decided to try my hand at making a bear myself. It was around then that I caught the bearmaking bug and Lionheart Bears were born.

During the past three years my bearmaking has evolved and I have developed a style of my own. All the bears are made using top quality fabrics,
including mohair and alpaca. I use glass eyes,
ultrasuede and wool felt for pads and the bears are usually stuffed with polyester filling and
plastic pellets for extra weight.

Each of my Lionheart Bears are made with care and attention to detail - being a member of the British Toymakers Guild, you can be assured that the workmanship is of the highest quality. The range of bears is developing all the time and hope to add other details such as airbrushed features in the near future.